


I want you to become happy.

by Murphyuwu



Category: One Piece
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst, Consensual Sex, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Fear of loss, First Love, Friendship, Heartache, How Do I Tag, Insecurity, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reincarnation, Reunions, Sabo remembers and suffers, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:21:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26486368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murphyuwu/pseuds/Murphyuwu
Summary: Piercing grey met ocean blue and the world stopped for only one of them.
Relationships: Portgas D. Ace/Sabo
Comments: 26
Kudos: 56





	1. I found you.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting my writing;; English is my third language, so please bear with me. AceSabo keeps me going. I have so many ideas for these two and I finally decided to put one of them into words. This is inspired by the amazing artist, [ImDesaru](https://twitter.com/imdesaru)!

_But I felt empty, as if something important seemed to be missing. It hit me as soon as piercing eyes met mine in the middle of a playground at the age of 6 and the world stopped._

* * *

“What do you want?” A sigh of relief escaped Sabo’s lips - he couldn’t remember when he started to hold his breath - as he heard the other boy’s voice despite the harshness underlining those words. It was him… It really was him. The boy he kept seeing in his dreams and he wasn’t sure why, but seeing and hearing him lifted all the invisible weight off his shoulders.

A raven brow rose as he just stared at him in awe and quiet seconds passed while no words were exchanged. Until finally, self-consciousness ran Sabo over like a truck as he realized how little sense this whole encounter made to the other. _Oh no._

If his parents wanted the blond child to become a self-confident and proud man, he had a long way to get there because he was anxious and the exact opposite of what they desired. Blame _them_ for it though. They never let him interact with other children his age, locked him up in his room the whole day, forcing him to study to meet their expectations at some point. They never allowed him to do anything, so how was he supposed to know what to do?

Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to tell himself to overcome the whispering shadows lurking in the back of his mind and just ask the other to play with him. He needed to pull himself together. It wasn’t supposed to be that hard, right? Surely, he could do it, It was something others did all the time. But as soon as he tried to seek out those grey orbs again, he was already walking away from him, back turned towards Sabo which caused the blonde’s heart to sink. He was too slow. Meanwhile the blackhaired boy was muttering incomprehensible and angry things.

  
_He was leaving him alone again._

What? 

“Don’t go!”, Sabo called after him without thinking about it, leaping forward instinctively and if it wasn’t for the fact that he tripped over his own foot to crash onto the ground face-first, Ace wouldn’t have turned back… Probably.

Seriously, what a clutz he was. On the ground, he groaned. And then he heard the other approach him once more with fast footsteps which made the blonde, oddly enough, feel put at ease.

“Are… you okay?”, insecurity and slight worry was audible, rid of the previous annoyance that he had clearly shown.

Despite Sabo’s eyes watering in pain, he tilted his head up to meet the ravenette and sent him the biggest smile he could muster - people who smiled genuinely were nice people after all and hopefully, he didn’t seem like a creepy weirdo: “I’m fine.”, as a white tooth suddenly fell off his mouth. 

Both of them shrieked. 

And that’s how these two dorky boys started to connect once more in another life.

* * *

_I can't remember when this tormenting feeling had started. It was, as if I felt like this from the very beginning and nothing was able to make it go away, as much as I tried to get rid of it._

_There were times where I’d ask myself, if all of it was just a dream, manifested by my childhood loneliness as a coping mechanism. Was it though? I couldn’t tell at that time._

_But now I do._


	2. Who am I ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It crashed onto him like thunder and he felt like drowning but clinged onto the last thing, that kept him at bay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now, this is quite Sabo-centric! I hope you love him.

"You know there is that girl..", they sat outside of the Portgas' well-taken care of terrace, snacks that Ace's parents had brought placed in between them and Sabo involuntarily zoned out for a second. _Oh._

There was a hand waving right in front of his face but blue eyes somehow remained dazed for a tad bit longer than intended. His throat suddenly felt as if he just had been walking through a desert, so dry and raw, it made him feel dizzy and sick so he gulped down whatever thick lump that had formed, sinking all his emotions along with it. 

"Yes?", ah, his voice sounded a bit croaky but he could blame it on something else. Ace then gave him a look, _that look,_ that was throwing one certain question into their shared space but he disliked it, didn't want this attention so he rubbed his scarred arm to calm himself. A gesture that the tanned boy recognized at all times - Sabo felt uncomfortable and looked so incredibly timid, it gave the taller the urge to pull him into a hug but he didn't. It would be useless to try to ask about it because he would respond with a nod and say "I'm fine", they'd move on after the blonde would receive another skeptical look, the way they always did. 

That's why this time he decided to brush it off which made his friend feel more than grateful for, because it was his way of showing that he cared enough to understand. So then Ace continued with what he needed to get off his chest, red slowly dusting his cheeks while he clumsily tried to find the right words and he remembered- remembered something from today, something Sabo was not part of: "She.. Is really cute." 

And there is a smile, a smile so shy, so foreign, despite knowing so many of his best friend's expressions throughout these years they spent together. They were all beautiful and he treasured each one of them with all of his being. It was something, Sabo could look at for hours and never grow tired of but somehow today it made him feel.. Wrenched. 

_Why?_

Nonetheless, the blonde straightened his back and sent him a playful grin as he shoved his elbow against the other's upper arm in a teasing manner: "Uh-huh?" Acting, as if he was curious and wanted to hear more because Ace wanted to talk about it and entrusted him with his feelings. He should be thankful but.. Truthfully, he would've rather disappeared. 

Was he a bad friend?

"Don't make fun of me, asshole!", Ace slapped his hand away with an annoyed glare and it reminded Sabo of old times, when the freckled child would have that face 24/7. A chuckle escaped his lips and he noticed once more, how fast they've been growing up: "Sorry, sorry! So, what's with the _cute_ girl?", emphasizing the cute with an eyebrow wiggle while he tried to sound as casually as possible. 

The taller boy hesitated for a second but sooner than enough, he spilled it all out. Sabo didn't understand but his heart felt like it bled. 

********

And thus, he buried himself in his studies because _this was fine_. Sabo was a goddamn nerd and he was very well aware of it. Intelligent and smart with a passion for books to absorb information and knowledge or to indulge in those, in which he could lose himself into - the adventures, the different universes, a dream world, away from reality. Everything about books was fascinating (maybe because they had everything that he didn't have?) and each time he had the chance to read, it gave him a little sense of freedom. 

It always worked out whenever his father would be furious and yell at him or when his mother would pull at his hair for being a disobedient son. Punishments grew harder by every passing year and he couldn't explain as to why, so he needed it, a decent distraction from all the stress and fear that continuously piled up. 

He was 14 years old, half-blinded by one incident when people called it an ‘accident’. A burn mark covered his left eye and trailed down his neck and shoulder, snaking over his arm until it reached his back and even part of his waist. _Ugly_ and ever so present on his pale skin.

Yes, it was exactly two years ago when his father broke out in a fit for no reason and decided to burn his son with a torch. It felt like yesterday- the screams, the cries, the pain and once in a while his mind played tricks on him to somehow make him experience it all over again. He’d usually lie on the ground, his entire body paralyzed, shaking because _it hurt so much_ and it always felt like an agonizing eternity until it would go away . It was exhausting. 

Now his parents didn't even dare to spare him a glance because of the hideous sight of his face and every now and then, he felt the mark on his body throb and twist and he hated to catch his reflection in the mirror, to be reminded of _the past_. 

At least that moment helped the young boy realize that he needed to get away from here or more like, after Ace had literally punched it into him when he cried- cried so much in his friend's warm embrace. Sabo was diligently working towards the goal to free himself from the shackles of this asphyxiating household, so he kept up with his studies to someday succeed with his plan and get away, hopefully, as far as possible. Gaining that so-called freedom that everyone was talking about and maybe.. 

He traced over the fine lines of letters on the old scrap of paper. " _Love._ ", a quiet mumble into the empty room. 

********

It was a normal day. Another uneventful, meaningless day in his life. The day, where all pieces were abruptly put into place and everything suddenly made so much more sense. Sabo remembered. The pirate-era, the emperors, the revolutionary army, Marineford- but without evidence.

Yet he felt it. He felt it so clearly that those visions were not just some random numbers of connected dreams. He started to see them back then, but couldn't place and understand at such a young age and more confusion rose when he had met Ace, the physical form of what he had seen almost everyday, what he had missed and yearned for his entire (short) life.

But then it just clicked and he realized that all of it felt too real to have no meaning. And they haunted him whenever they got the chance to - in his sleep and even in his wake, which was extremely hard to deal with when he suddenly spaced out during the day, only to be thrown into another painful memory of his past self. The laughs, the adventures, the sake, the brotherhood, the cries and.. Death.

More often than not, he found himself yanking at the front of his other self‘s shirt and he yelled, blamed him for having lost the one person he had loved the most because the emotions of his past life were washing all over his own. But were they his own? 

_Who am I?_ 一 “I’m sorry.”

There were times he would wake up drenched in sweat, desperately gasping for air, his sight completely blurred. Tears were threatening to roll down the side of his face and each night he would shift to the side, wailing silently into the pillows while his fingers clawed at the sheets to hold onto something, _anything._ His chest would feel so, so heavy, he couldn't breathe, _he didn't want to breathe_ . Ace.. _Ace_. 

Those nights were the worst, because he was all alone. He refused to burden the ravenette with a call or a message on those ungodly hours - it would be bothersome for his partner in crime, light up unnecessary worry within his friend and Sabo can't have that because he just wasn't worth it, worth all the trouble. 

The next day he would wrap his arms around Ace's neck until he would start to complain to Sabo for being so goddamn clingy. 

_This time I will do it right._

He lost him once because he was a selfish fool and he won’t do it again. Or so he kept telling himself that he tried to. It was almost laughable to be rewarded with another chance. A chance to do better than back then and to not fail the most important person in his life. Sometimes he asked himself if Ace's and his encounter was a gift or more of a curse.

He didn't know. Perhaps it was both?

Ace huffed but didn't seem to exactly hate the affection Sabo was showering him with: "Tell me why we are friends again?" The way he frowned made the scarred boy snicker as he felt the other's hands pat his back reassuringly in contrast to his words: "Because you love me?", and somehow that sentence held so much more meaning than he himself expected. Noticing how slight fear was crawling up his body, he grew tense and maybe a bit embarrassed as nervous blood rushed to his cheeks. 

Hopefully, his friend wouldn't notice. _Please, don't._

And bless the gods that such words and actions between them were so natural, so that Ace wouldn't read more into the lines. Yet why did Sabo's chest feel so constricted?   
"Whatever you say.", with a roll of those beautiful sharp eyes, the blonde was rewarded with an amused yet soft smile. 

The way his heart frequency took a leap to absolute madness, Sabo considered whether or not he should be seeing a doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I like being dramatic.. :) I don't think he has his feelings sorted out yet.


	3. Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He tries to find salvation by hurting himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skip to the next Horizontal if you don't wanna read the mature content!
> 
> A tiny glimpse of Ace's feelings but the main focus is on our curly blonde. We will get to it!

Filthy sounds were muffled by pillows as his hips were moving uncoordinatedly towards the friction that his body oh-so desperately yearned for. There was a hand pulling at his blond curls, the other bruising his pale skin with its brutal grip and he groaned, shamelessly begging for more while helplessly squirming in utter bliss within the hold of another man. 

Sabo loved to be manhandled. The pain and the sensation of being filled to the brim made him feel so much more alive, making his heartbeat exhilarate.  
“Harder..”, he cried and demanded and it would be either cruelly denied or given to him on a silver plate. 

He needed the sex, the overwhelming pleasure to keep drowning out his feelings and thoughts and it worked out perfectly until it was over, only to find the black hole within his chest still remain empty, perhaps even emptier than before.

A shudder was running through his body, when his thigh was carelessly squeezed during the afterglow:  
“Do you need a ride home?”  
  
He didn't have to think twice about his response:  
"No, I'm good. Thank you."  
It was a polite declination as he sent the other a small smile while trying to catch and calm his breath. His partner apparently had no intention to give him a break though, Sabo noted, when his back was forcefully pressed back into the mattress and the room was once more filled with their voices intermingling and the noises of two bodies meeting each other in an act of loveless intimacy.

* * *

“Good job, me.”, he really decided to drag his sore body through the streets in the middle of the night, cursing his stupid self for refusing the guy’s offer but also purposely ignoring all the pestering messages and calls from Ace who _could_ pick him up, but erm- no, thanks. 

Hopefully, the other would already be asleep upon his arrival because it'd be indeed a big pain in the butt to have someone scold him at like 3am when all he wanted was to crawl into his bed and sink into soft cushions under warm blankets. Maybe continue reading the book he was currently invested in until he'd fall asleep because falling asleep turned out to be surprisingly more difficult by each day. Yes, that sounded just perfect..

… Or so he had thought. Said peaceful hope was soon shattered by the sound of stomping, angry footsteps approaching him through the house’s longass corridor which rapidly increased the likeliness of a headache rising- He bit his lip, _shit_. Why was Ace still awake? 

"Where the fuck have you been?!" Sabo winced at the agitated voice but knew better than to yell back. So he carefully kicked off his shoes and muttered a quiet apology but needed to add nonetheless with as little saltiness as possible: "I'm having a headache, so could you please tone it down?" Also taking into consideration that Rogers and Rogue were probably already sleeping, he vaguely gestured upstairs in hope to make the family’s son understand that he should better follow his suggestion. 

_Funny,_ how their roles completely switched tonight, when usually Ace was the one who needed to be pulled apart by Rogue and Sabo. 

To Sabo's misfortune, Ace on the other hand refused to back down though and silently announced to stare daggers at him instead. A foot tapped against the wooden floor repeatedly as one black brow rose in expectation for an answer and the blonde had to give his utmost best to stay calm and collected for both of their sakes. 

The two were able to act extremely irrationally at times (Rogue didn’t call them hot headed fools for nothing) and letting that shared trait clash at night, where emotions felt more intense than usual.. That’d be just a bad idea with a horrendous outcome and nobody wanted, nor needed that. Which is why Sabo’s eyes tried to focus on whatever but the figure in front of him. _Coward._

"Do you have any idea what time it is? Why didn't you pick up your phone?" The worry ever so evident in his best friend’s voice finally triggered small guilt blossoming within Sabo's chest.

"I'm sorry.”, and despite not thinking about it, he really meant it: “Just-", a pause. The younger suddenly found himself having a hard time to find the right words, not really sure what exactly to say and where to start. Ace didn’t know what he'd been up to whenever he would come home late and he had no intention to let him know, so what was he supposed to tell him? His fingers found the hem of his shirt to play with. He actually didn’t want to lie. 

_But aren’t you always lying?_

"See.. I'm tired, okay?", he ran his left hand through his curls in a distressed manner, not even daring to look into those grey eyes that probably understood very well, that he basically refused to talk with what he was saying right now. "Let's talk tomorrow?", it was an empty suggestion but worth a try and only partially a lie.

* * *

And that caused Ace to hesitate for a second. It was clearly noticeable that he was pushing against Sabo's boundaries and for a fact, they hadn’t even made eye contact since the blonde came home, plus none of his questions were answered whatsoever. On another note, he was seriously worried about his friend's well-being because he was definitely not okay from what Ace had observed. Sabo looked so _exhausted,_ it was concerning. 

The freckled male almost sighed to himself, having to witness once more, how much had changed throughout those years they had shared. Back then, they would have talked to each other about everything, laying all their cards bare towards another because they had _faith_. And now? Sabo didn't tell him shit. 

Of course he had no obligation to but the gap between them seemed to widen bit by bit and Ace wasn’t fond of it in the slightest. Yet what was he supposed to do? Forcing himself onto his best friend because he didn’t want to lose him? As if. The trail of thoughts was abruptly cut off when someone decided to interrupt the two. "Ace?" 

* * *

Sabo's lips formed a thin line upon hearing a third voice, not sure whether to feel thankful or spiteful towards the arrival. This time light steps came closer and once again, he needed to helplessly watch how those thinner, softer and so much weaker arms than his’ wrapped around Ace's frame as if it was the most natural thing in the universe. 

"I thought I told you to stay in bed..", Ace sighed and he caught a glimpse of how his friend's sharp features softened while turning towards the actual source of his despair. Meanwhile Sabo just stood there like a complete idiot, realizing that he was being a bother, a _nuisance_ again because Ace sounded extremely tired (maybe tired of him?) and was only up due to his unnecessary presence.

_He stopped looking at him like that at some point._

A cute pout from the other party was audible: "I got worried.” He swallowed. The scene that was playing in front of him made Sabo feel like a stupid and ugly, filthy, scarred monster NPC standing behind two perfectly matched protagonists and it surely felt like a sick joke that he did not want to be part of. All he wanted was to leave out of the door that he just came in through but the rational side of his mind told him to stay. 

How he hated his rational self. 

'Bedroom.', irrationality meanwhile supplied nonetheless to goddamn evacuate because this is what he had been trying to avoid this entire time and why he sought out men to fill this gaping hole that was shredding his insides to pieces nearly every day. Why did he have to face this, why did he have to see this, why, why, _why_. 

"I-", his voice cracked but Ace didn't turn back because he probably didn't hear and she was more important than him, of course she was, what did he even hope for? Maybe, just maybe he might’ve enjoyed the little attention that his friend was giving him only minutes ago and suddenly being aware of it made it even more ridiculous. What was he anyways? 

He didn’t know why but his head turned to the hanging mirror on the wall to his right and a shiver ran down his spine when he caught his reflection smiling wickedly at him.

_The one who failed him._

"Sabo?"

It nearly made him laugh. Until fucking finally, his body had chosen to listen to his inner voice, screaming to move out of the picture. Ace can stay mad at him all he wanted and Sabo would apologize tomorrow, no biggie. 

First of all, he needed to get out of here before he'd fall apart in front of them.

Taking a deep breath, the blond male kind of aggressively grabbed his bag and moved past them in a swift motion and onto the stairs. Just because he had good manners, he did manage to wish them a half-hearted: “Good night.”, that hopefully at least Ace had caught onto. And again, he decided to ignore the call of his name behind him with a hundred mental apologies.

* * *

The urge to slam his door shut was drowned out by the overwhelming emotion of utter defeat, so he found himself quietly closing it behind his back instead as a curse escaped his lips and his legs, lastly, gave in. The scarred male let his body sink down to the bottom of his room when an uncontrollable sob escaped him. He pulled his knees towards his chest and finally, let out all those feelings that he hopelessly tried to run away from, allowing them to eat at him for once and more, ripping at his flesh. 

There was no need for Sherlock Holmes' arrival to confirm that Sabo was absolutely gay and in love with the one and only Portgas D. Ace and he hated himself for it.

“Bullshit.” A good rest was cancelled off his schedule for tonight as a muted cry was shaking his entire being. 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sabo moved to Ace's house because Roger and Rogue couldn't endure to see the boy suffer under his parents' control any longer. They pulled their (not so) legal strings and he found a new place, he could call home.  
> Let's say they Sabo is 17 and Ace is 18 now?


	4. Keep it this way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fucking up his best friend was definitely not on his planning to-do-list this soon but..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit from our heatboy Ace. Please don't hate him, he also needs love and tries his best!

A loud thud rang eerily through a 30 pupils classroom, pulling the attention from other students, dozens of eyes flickering over to see what the cause was, though it didn't stop there. Oddly enough, another one followed soon after. 

His yelp was a little bit less manly than he had wanted it to be but by all gods, he couldn’t care less because that fucking hurt! Like who dared to slap him with their bag and Hulk's strength while he was taking a desperately needed nap after an exhausting day? 

Confused grey orbs were slowly adjusting towards the offending sunrays trickling through these - way too big for his own comfort - windows, trying to search for the source of his pain to seek relentless revenge but… Huh. 

“Erm. Sabo.. Not to be rude or anything but why are you on the ground?”

The only thing that escaped Sabo was one hell of an annoyed groan that amusingly threw Ace back to their very first (fated?) encounter when the blonde called out for him with a face-plant that had followed right after. 

His mind trailed further to Sabo's tooth gap when they were little. The one his stupid young self tried to repair by forcefully pushing the piece of bone back to it's original place. Of course to no avail, only hurting the blonde in the process who had teared up that time. 

Ace shook his head and sighed, a fond expression finding its way on his features. Indeed, how nostalgic it was to see Sabo lying on the ground just like that. 

But instead of receiving the radiant and cute smile from back then (that had captivated him in the past and that he still cherished until now), all he got was a very disgruntled: “You fucker.” 

_Yeah. Not cute at all._   
  
“Oh no. What did I do”, he couldn’t help but to drip a mocking note through his voice, a grin involuntarily pulling at the corner of his lips. Though in the end, he did help his other half up, just because he was such a kind human being that did not want to suffer from aftereffects for being an asshole, aka. Sabo's wrath. 

********

“So what’s up?”, curious to know what led the ambiverted, at school though an introverted bookworm, out of his small comfort zone and into another classroom. 

An incredulous look that had nearly looked offended was sent his way which made Ace almost ask what rule he had broken now. "I asked you to go to the movies with me?", dusting the dirt off his perfectly fitting pants, Sabo did not sound amused and Ace knew immediately as to why. 

“Today.", both knew that it was an unnecessary and petty addition from the scarred boy.

There were times, Ace cursed at how well they knew each other in and out because it led to these kinds of situations, where Sabo could read right through him to conclude things on his own while also being right on point. 

Mr. Freckles, yes, he himself, completely forgot about today’s plans and there was absolutely no point in lying about it. 

First of all, it would worsen the situation and second, it was probably written all over his face, embarrassingly so, anyway. 

"Oh."  
"Don't 'Oh' me now."

Now it hadn't been that long ago since one of their 'bigger' fights had kind of cooled down so fucking up his best friend was definitely not on his planning to-do-list this soon. 

Yet here he was, very close to do exactly _that_. 

He couldn't stand the thought of earning himself another dismissive shoulder from the one person he treasured the most - everytime it would be painful and would leave him cold and he hated it, he _really_ did. 

But that was just how both of them were. Straightforward and stubborn to no ends, not seeing the point of giving in so easily during their quarrels - or at least Ace believed so. What differed between the two was that Sabo could turn icy-cold when he was mad at Ace and _only_ at him. 

When he would have an argument with Koala or Luffy, Sabo was so much more reasonable, would yell if needed but not shove them off and away without even another glance, best of, a glare that could turn you into a glacier. 

Of course he could pull that off too at times where he needed some distance, but it'd be more verbal because communication and expressing how you feel was the key. Sabo had always been bad at that.

Thank you Outlook, for fucking up.

********

Including his girlfriend into their plans always left a bitter aftertaste on his tongue so that was not an option. Sabo somehow showed an odd dislike for her mere existence, even if never spoken out directly. 

Her presence always made his whole figure shrink and tense - Ace wasn’t a fool to not notice the subtle changes in his best friend’s behaviour, those fake smiles and laughs, whenever she was around. It was concerning but never did he ask him about it. 

Ace just didn't feel like he had the right to.

There weren’t many people who were able to intimidate the tall blonde or at least not anymore. And it was also very rare for Sabo to unreasonably dislike someone because that boy usually wouldn't care about other people. All of this was just _horrible_.

".. You know what? It’s fine, forget it.", and he turned away, about to leave. 

The intonation sounded definite, _distant.  
_ _He fucked up._

Ace's body moved before he could think, grabbing a hold of the blonde's pale wrist to pull him back which was very selfish of him to do after seriously forgetting about Sabo like that but- Fear was trickling down his guts, afraid of an unspoken threat that the other wouldn’t return. A thought so irrational and ridiculous when they were actually living together. 

Or what if Sabo would go alone and wouldn't come home tonight, lurking somewhere, _again,_ to make him worry and unable to sleep? Koala would never join him, she hated the movies Sabo loved and Luffy had plans with his friends today as well, so his company was also out of the question.   
Ace stopped thinking straight at some point but he had come to a decision. 

"Plans are cancelled, I'm going with you."  
"You really don't have to, Ace." Again, that tone of indifference underlining Sabo's words stung more than needed and Ace understood very well that he was probably getting tired of his dumb ass. But he was determined to not be shaken off so easily.

"It's not because I have to, It's because I want to."

Ace watched his reaction carefully, his grip not losing any strength, letting sea-colored orbs meet his own, dull grey ones very briefly. Sabo casted his eyes away then, visibly biting on his lower lip - a sign of insecurity and hesitance (confusion?), thinking things through first before acting accordingly. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly. 

Not knowing why, Ace's heart thrummed against his chest as if it could burst out any second, afraid of rejection even though it would be his own fault for not keeping track of the plans that he had made - how careless had he become and since when? 

“Alright.”, when Sabo faced him with a very faint smile and a light hue of red dusting his pale cheeks, he felt like he could finally breathe again.

_Beautiful_. 

"What did you say?"   
The tanned boy startled. Did he just say that out loud? _Oh my god._   
"Nothing.", awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, he reached for his bag to swiftly get off his chair: "So why were you lying on the ground again?", watching blue eyes roll in response. 

Throwing his arm around the other’s shoulder to pull him closer, they walked down the loud, endlessly long corridors and caught up. They were talking about anything and nothing without a care in the world, teasing each other and laughing. Sometimes by accident, Ace’s lips brushed Sabo’s cheeks when they turned their heads in inconvenient angles but the ravenette didn’t mind. 

They were good again and Ace prayed for it to stay like this forever and unbeknowingly to him, Sabo did too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you hear Sabo internally screaming in the distance?

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me about AceSabo or One Piece in general on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/vii_nea/status/1293153264264007680?s=20) or [Tumblr](https://dabbingdabs.tumblr.com/) T_T I actually draw these two as much as time allows me to bc I'm actually more of an artist than a writer;;


End file.
